Newcastle Government House & Domain- nomination to State Heritage Register

PHOTOGRAPHS: Newcastle Parsonage circa 1819- before & after demolition





Last year our annual meeting strongly supported further heritage protection of historic James Fletcher Hospital in Newcastle. We are pleased that a nomination has been submitted to the National Trust’s Heritage at Risk Program. The Newcastle Government House and Domain is significant to the colonial history of NSW and is a cultural landscape that is closely linked with convictism and the Macquarie period. The site has been in Governmental management from 1804 to the current day and is also closely associated with the history of Australian coal mining (the first commercial vertical coal shafts worked, using convict labour - 1814-17).
Convict labour was used to quarry this area for the construction of the military barracks and parade ground in the 1830s. These military buildings (circa 1842) remain on the hospital grounds and have been used as a mental health facility since 1871 until recently. However, in June 2009 most mental health services were relocated and there is now an urgent need to ensure that the military buildings continue to be maintained and occupied.
Most of the old parsonage (circa 1819) also on the site were demolished in June 2009 (see photographs above, before & after). Although an archaeological investigation was undertaken, the committee would like to see a meaningful interpretation of the relics that remain. Unfortunately the parsonage (also known as Reception House) was not on the State Heritage Register. The former Minister for Planning gave consent for demolition in 2007 using Part 3 of the EP&A Act, after Newcastle Council had refused consent. There was nothing conservation groups could do to halt demolition.
It is essential that the heritage significance of this convict, mining and military site be fully acknowledged. The Committee has recently submitted a State Heritage Register nomination for this special cultural landscape.
CURRENT THREATS
*Currently many buildings are empty- although gates have been erected there are threats of vandalism
*Maintenance tradesman have moved off site
*No publicly reported future plans have been announced for the hospital
*No Archaeological report has been publicly available-re Interpretation of Parsonage
*Why is there a need for a new 20 bed facility on the old parsonage site when the Thwaites building (circa 1990) sits empty.
*Is puzzling why the Shortland Clinic is going to be demolished, what is the site being prepared for?

The Committee cares about the future of Newcastle.
How can we bring our caring attitude into the decision making that is shaping our future?
The only political machinery available is to identify through the State and National listing process the essential values and knowledge that we want to hand on to the people of tomorrow.
It is important that the Community supports the nomination for State and National Heritage Listing of the existing James Fletcher Hospital and Newcastle’s former Government House site and its historic surroundings.
This area is quintessential to understanding the beginnings and development of our city of Newcastle.
The James Fletcher Hospital site and the former Government House site in Newcastle should continue to remain in public ownership for the education and use of the People of New South Wales and Australia

History Week- Public Lecture 'Solitude of Sighs'

12 September, 3pm – 5pm at the 'Lock Up' Hunter Street
Public Lecture Solitude of Sighs, Laila Ellmoos.
“We were a miscellaneous lot: murderesses and pickpockets, abortionists and shop-lifters, thieves and robbers, drunks and vags.” Rebecca Ross 1908.
This lecture expands on scholarly and popular understandings of the NSW prison system from the perspective of those who spent time ‘doing time.’
Laila Ellmoos is a professional historian based in Sydney and currently historian for the NSW Government Architect’s Office.
Off the Beaten Track is an initiative of the History Council of NSW for History Week 2009.
Bookings essential 4925 2265.

Heritage Walk, High St (eastern end) Maitland 2.00 pm Sunday 26 July.

Heritage Walk, High St (eastern end) Maitland 2.00 pm Sunday 26 July.

Following the success of artist Holly McNamee's Re-gain exhibition, which focused on streetscapes of the artist's childhood, Friends of Grossmann House will hold a Heritage Walk around this area of Maitland. The walk will be led by Wayne Campbell and will not only focus on the properties in Holly's drawings, but many other heritage buildings in this part of town.
The walk is approximately 2 hours and will be followed by refreshments at Brough House. Please assemble at the Town Hall carpark at 2.00 pm. Cost $20 and $15 National Trust members. Bookings please to Grossmann House (49336452) or Holly (49344314).

Public Lecture:The Extant Remains of Hydraulic Power in Sydney and Newcastle Hosted by the Engineering Heritage Committee

ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA PRESENTS GUEST SPEAKER: John Gibson MA, BSc, FIIA, CPEng Manager, Heritech Consulting
Member of Engineering Heritage Australia (Sydney Division)
The reticulation of a form of easily applied power for use by commerce and industry was really unknown in the mid-nineteenth century. By 1849 Sir Wm Armstrong proposed the use of hydraulic power at the Grimsby docks (UK), and by 1876 the first public system was inaugurated at Hull. At Newcastle (NSW) the Bullock Is. system commenced in 1877 to serve the cranes and windlasses on the wharves. The fifth public system in the world was operating in Sydney by 1891 serving the needs of lifts, cranes (whips), machinery and presses. By 1894 the Sydney system had 200 customers, and by 1922 some 80km of mains. The Sydney system was converted to electricity in 1952 and ceased operation in 1975. Many other independent systems were in use across the city as well. The re- development of the city in the period between 1975 and the present has seen much of the original hydraulic plant removed, or replaced with more modern equipment. In many cases buildings have been replaced totally with new structures for commerce and residential occupation thus removing any trace of the use of hydraulics. The author’s work on the conservation of the hydraulic whip in the Argyle Stores building led to a search for those remains of hydraulic powered equipment that had survived the city changes, or had been protected by heritage legislation in the intervening years. The lecture will cover the well known remains of some hydraulic power systems, and bring to light a number of examples that remain hidden in the depths of a few prominent places.
Thursday 9th July 2009
Time 5:30 pm Refreshments then 6:00 pm Presentation
Location Engineers Australia 122 Parry Street, Newcastle West
RSVP to Katrina Baker at the Newcastle Division Office on 02 4926 4440 or
kbaker@engineersaustralia.org.au by Monday 6th July 2009
(PHOTO-Ann Hardy 'Newcastle Hydralic Pump Station' 2007.

Tomago House, Tomago: Camellias and Celtic Celebrations

Tomago House, Tomago: Camellias and Celtic Celebrations
Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 July, 10am – 4pm

Visit Tomago House during this annual celebration featuring display blooms, superb floral arrangements by local garden clubs, camellia shrubs for sale, highland dancers, botanical watercolour artist, craft and collectible stalls, raffle, light refreshments and more. Organised by the Friends of Tomago House.
Cost: $5 adults, National Trust members and concession $4, children free. P: (02) 4964 8123.
Photograph: Allan Eastham

COCKATOO ISLAND COACH TOUR Sunday 27th September, 2009

Absorb the convict and maritime history of Sydney Harbour’s largest island. Once a convict prison and a dockyard for shipbuilding, today Cockatoo Island features immense industrial workshops, prison barracks, underground silos, tunnels and two magnificent docks. Our hour and a half tour offers an overview of the island’s history and features some of the best examples of early colonial history in Sydney. A must for anyone interested in the history of Sydney and its maritime past.
Details: Leave Nctle 7.45 am return approx 6pm. Cost: $80 $70 National Trust members and concession holders. Ferry fare $5.20 each way or $2.50concession. Lunch available at the Muster Station Café or bring your own picnic. Tour involves a lot of walking and will go ahead in wet weather. Enquiries:Pat Turnbull 49275135 or email turnbullpa@bigpond.com. Cockatoo website www.cockatooisland.gov.au/see/tours

NATIONAL TRUST "HERITAGE AT RISK PROGRAM"

The National Trust NSW has recently nominated three site in NSW to the national "Heritage at Risk Program". One of the nominations includes the Newcastle Government House and Domain, incorporating the James Fletcher Hospital that dates from the early 1800s and is threatened with unsympathetic redevelopment. The recent demolition of Kirkwood House by a Government authority without prior warning confirms the urgency in protecting this historic site.Only two buildings on the site are on the State Heritage Register. This Nationally significant area has links with convictism and colonialism, growth and development of Australian industry and economy. It is important that the cultural landscape of this area are fully acknowledged and placed on the State Heritage Register.